Anyone in need of a quick face-ripping? Look no further than the debut EP from US black/ thrash metal upstarts Frosthelm. An energetic, burning first release that wastes little time in flying out of your speakers; four short songs with very little in the way of bullshit, Frosthelm throw riff after riff into the chaos created in the EP's short run time.

If there's anywhere the band go wrong it's in some of the vocals, which sometimes turn into the yappy, choking out a cat type of sound. Fortunately there isn't a lot of this here on The Northwinds Rend Flesh. What I really enjoy about this EP besides the crippling riffs are the production and sound, similar in places to early Arsis although honoring the old school violent thrash sound, you know where it sounds like the band could trip up on themselves at any minute? Fortunately they don't but it really gives the music life, feeling like the recording can barely contain the band. Fans of Skeltonwitch, Witchery and even Immortal should find a lot to enjoy here. Recommended!